FRS 002 — Sec. 008 — (2 units) — CRN 92619 — T 5:10-7:00pm — 1011 EU III
Stormwater Runoff Pollutants and its Impact on our Environment

Instructor: Masoud Kayhanian, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering

Description: One million cubic meter of stormwater runoff are discharged from urban and non-urban areas on an annual basis to various receiving waters bodies (e.g., rivers, lakes, oceans). Pollutants associated with this runoff will have serious environmental consequences. For instance, beaches are commonly closed soon after a storm event for fear of pathogenic (disease causing) bacteria contamination. Large numbers of fish die annually due to the non-point source pollution. Increased concentrations of organic and inorganic pollutants have been noticed in river and other potable waters. For these reasons, it is more difficult and more expensive to treat these waters prior to distribution for human consumption. This course is intended to provide an introduction to stormwater runoff quality so that the students gain the basic knowledge and become familiar with topics such as: (1) the principles behind the U.S. Clean Water Act, (2) the essential water quality parameters, (3) techniques in measuring the water quality parameters, (4) the sources of pollutants in stormwater runoff, (5) pollutants of concern and priority, and (6) management practices and treatment options. At the conclusion of this course the students will gain adequate knowledge to be familiar with basic water quality and pertinent regulations. The students will also be aware of the importance of controlling the pollution at the source compared with the consequence of pollution discharge to our environment and costly treatment. They will also learn adequate skills to prepare and present a group Powerpoint presentation, a valuable experience for their future professional career.

Format: We will meet once a week from 5:10 to 7 PM on Tuesday. There will be a 10 to 15 minute break at or around 6:00 PM. The class will be located in 1011 Engineering III building. The course will consist of lectures in the form of Powerpoint presentations and guest speakers. The students are encouraged to ask questions and participate in lecture discussion. Up to three short journal articles on related topics will be made available to students and they are required to prepare a written critical review (maximum of 3 pages) of the paper content. The students are also required to prepare a Powerpoint presentation. For this assignment, the students will be divided into five groups and each group will be responsible to select a relevant topic and prepare a PowerPoint presentation at the conclusion of the course. Grading: students will be assigned a letter grade based on: (1) regular class participation and interaction (30%), (2) preparing a short critique (up to three pages) for three reading assignments (30%) and (3) the skill and quality of final in class Powerpoint presentation (40%).

About the Instructor: Dr. Kayhanian has been a research faculty member at UC Davis for the past 15 years. He is currently an Associate Research Professor and the Associate Director of the Center for Environmental and Water Resources Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Most of his current research activities relate to non-point source pollution and stormwater runoff from transportation facilities. He performed over 20 major research projects on stormwater related topics for the past 8 years and published numerous scientific papers on this topic. He has extensive teaching experience and has taught numerous courses on environmental related topics to undergraduate, graduate and professional students. Dr. Kayhanian was also the recipient of the 2005 Outstanding Alumni Award.